5+2 seats or 7

[googlepeakoil]

There's a pic on Electrek that somebody managed to take off the rear 2 seats. Interestingly they appear to have no headrests. I think, because the back of the car swoops down so much that the rear glass is too low to sit 2 adults - and these are only for very small adults, or children! Look at how low the car is where the rear seats would be - and remember where the feet are is where the electric motor is! I personally would guess the max height is 5ft (152cm).
Given that sitting really close to the back of a car (a foot or so) is also a bit dangerous if the car is rear-ended, is it a mistake to cram these 2 seats in a car this short? It's not a minivan shape. It's shaped more like a slightly inflated Prius.
Given that the Model S was described as a 5+2 seater (because the 2 rear seats could only sit children) shouldn't the Y also be described as this in that configuration? It seems a bit unethical of Tesla to sell this as a 7 seater. Also it seems they deliberately did not show the boot as a 5 or 7 seater, or the inside of the car in the reveal video.
The internal pic of the car on the website cunningly does not show the rear glass and is angled so you don't really know where the rear roof comes down.

 

[ev4thewin]

I’m curious as well. Even with children they’ll need a head rest if in a booster seat only. Hopefully a head rest pops up like on a lot of 3rd row vehicles. Having a snapped neck from a rear collision would ruin anyone’s day.

If there is no head rest, all children would need a booster seat with back/head protection in place.

 

[ElectricLee]

In the reveil video, there was

5 tall adults in rows 1 and 2
And
2 small/short adults in row 3

Watch closely.

 

[googlepeakoil]

In the reveil video, there was

5 tall adults in rows 1 and 2
And
2 small/short adults in row 3

Watch closely.

Yeah, think it was too small asian ladies. Although people have got 20 people in a phone-booth before
From the side view of the car it just looks really tight getting 2 seats in the back of this car - and the leg-room must be really small too. Worse than the X. There's a funny Bjorn video where 2 giant Norweigans get into the 2 rear seats of an X with amusing results. Unless you were with a gf / bf or very very close friend you wouldn't want to be in that space for a long drive if you were a big built adult! And it wouldn't be comfortable. The Y looks too be worse. The X is a monster of a vehicle - and nearly 3 tons.

 

[North75]

I suspect it will have headrests, but that they will need to be removed in order to fold the seats down.
(Unless they can come up with some kind of folding design between now and production)

You can see 2 slots in the top of the rear seat in some of the videos from the reveal event, that look like they would be mounting points for a headrest.

I'm pretty sure the seats will still be tiny though.

 

[EvanLin]

In the reveil video, there was
5 tall adults in rows 1 and 2
And
2 small/short adults in row 3
Watch closely.

Adults can still fit in 3rd row of a 5+2. Just not for a long time.

 

[xdmanalo]

Hoping it comes a stronger rear (higher strength steel) like the S with boosters did.

 

[Ludalicious]

Have you ever sat in the back seat of an Escalade. No way in hell will you be able to adjust the head rests properly for a 6ft person. Absolutely no 3rd row is really intended for long duration for an adult.

 

[sreams]

Here are all the pics I've gathered up:

It looks like the car used for demo rides had the 2nd row pushed all the way back (Franz says the 2nd row will be movable), which completely removed any leg space for the 3rd row in these pics.

It also appears that the taller Y allows for more vertical legroom, which means the 1st and 2nd rows can be pushed forward compared to the 3. The 3rd row appears to sit directly over the rear motor.

EDIT: Something I just noticed... if you look at the 2nd image, it appears the 3rd row may have little pop-up headrests. They just aren't popped up. That would make sense, since you'd need to push them back down in order to fold the seats down flat.

 

[Shygar]

The Model Y website says this:

"Room for up to seven adults with optional third row"

 

[sreams]

The Model Y website says this:

"Room for up to seven adults with optional third row"

There will likely be a height limit for the adults... but from the images I've seen, I do believe that at least some adults would fit back there okay.

 

[ElectricLee]

There will likely be a height limit for the adults... but from the images I've seen, I do believe that at least some adults would fit back there okay.

7 people at 5 feet tall each, with the 1st and second row pulling the seat all the way forward for leg room.

 

[sreams]

7 people at 5 feet tall each, with the 1st and second row pulling the seat all the way forward for leg room.

I don't think it will be that bad. The Y needs less horizontal legroom than the 3, because it has more vertical legroom.

 

[MXWing]

I sat in the back just so I could peer over and look at the rear seats.

Presently, the 7 seat option would be a hot seller in the shire. Hobbits will be buying this left and right. Not sure about the elves and man however.

With that said, I am certain Tesla is still working on the engineering to get this right. If it’s of major interest I would just select it and change my order later if it doesn’t work well.

Bottom line, it’s still speculation on what the final result for fit and comfort will be.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

I sat in the back just so I could peer over and look at the rear seats.

Presently, the 7 seat option would be a hot seller in the shire. Hobbits will be buying this left and right. Not sure about the elves and man however.

With that said, I am certain Tesla is still working on the engineering to get this right. If it’s of major interest I would just select it and change my order later if it doesn’t work well.

Bottom line, it’s still speculation on what the final result for fit and comfort will be.

My kids are currently hobbit sized, so that works for me.

 

[sreams]

I sat in the back just so I could peer over and look at the rear seats.

Presently, the 7 seat option would be a hot seller in the shire. Hobbits will be buying this left and right. Not sure about the elves and man however.

With that said, I am certain Tesla is still working on the engineering to get this right. If it’s of major interest I would just select it and change my order later if it doesn’t work well.

Bottom line, it’s still speculation on what the final result for fit and comfort will be.

I've mentioned this elsewhere... but keep in mind that the 2nd row was pushed all the way back for the demo rides. There was zero legroom for the 3rd row in that configuration. Franz has stated that the 2nd row can be moved fore and aft to increase 3rd row legroom.

 

[Shygar]

There will likely be a height limit for the adults... but from the images I've seen, I do believe that at least some adults would fit back there okay.

Or we can just drive with the hatch open

 

[CoastalCruiser]

The real question is, what if someone in the rear hobbit seats passes a little gas. How long would it take to clear the air? Can you open the rear hatch remotely? I spoke to Tesla actual about this and they indicated that in such an event, at the very least Farting Mode would activate in order to anonymise the source and prevent a riot in the cabin.

 

[Tony_YYZ]

The seats were very clearly not completed yet. All of this is subject to a lot of changes imo. The risers that they were using was very clearly prototype hardware.

We'll have to wait and see how it progresses in future builds.